Thoughts to Her Friends
by NSwisher1572
Summary: A peek into the minds of the Team by their telepath, who has come to know them more than perhaps anyone realizes. One-shot.


**A/N: **Just a quick little one-shot I thought of earlier today on the bus home. It's a bit ironic, because out of everyone on Young Justice, M'gann is actually my least favorite character... but hey, what are ya gonna do, right? Muses will be bothersome muses. Sorry about the slightly lackluster ending or any overall suckiness of this story; I just kind of slapped it down on Word when I got home. Didn't want to lose the idea, you know? :P

**Disclaimer: **I cannot haz.

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**_Thoughts to Her Friends_**

M'gann couldn't help it—when someone walked into the room or there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere, her Martian powers crowed to be released, to explore the new change freely and wonder what happened to cause it without shame. On Mars she was so used to others being in her head that it just seemed like the natural thing to do on Earth, too. It was a rare occurrence that anybody actually spoke aloud on Mars, but apparently things were different here. She felt genuinely bad for the first time she tried to go inside the others' minds, the way they had cringed as if in pain, the anger on Superboy's face… she hadn't known, it was an honest mistake, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty about it.

Her teammates complimented her on how she was getting better at controlling her urges to search inside the minds of others. They knew she wasn't trying to be intrusive; it was simply in her nature. It made M'gann happy to know they trusted her with something such as the mind link, which exposed all their thoughts and feelings to each other in a flash. It was an important part of their not-so-covert missions—one that M'gann quietly prided herself on, because it would've been much harder to sneak around enemy territory without being able to contact each other from a distance.

And yet, even with all her practicing, the hours she spent disciplining herself, the quiet tips from her Uncle J'onn whenever she was having a particularly hard time controlling herself, there was still a certain urge. A certain need. She never went farther than extending her telepathic powers to the edges of their minds, but M'gann was always analyzing the emotions felt by the Team, the little spikes in their subconscious that spoke of new thoughts or ideas. A few weeks after Young Justice was formed, she came to the realization that they were all _different_ somehow. Each of her friends had a unique thought process… their own aura.

From Kaldur she felt determination, deep-rooted loyalty, serenity, and a slight hint of reluctance. He wasn't the leader of their Team for nothing—he was the voice of reason, the one to calm things down when everyone was in an uproar, the logical one. When things went well for them, he allowed himself a quiet sense of victory and congratulations to his teammates. When things went badly (as they often did), he took a good look at the situation, analyzed what went wrong, and tried to figure out a possible way to succeed next time. He acted as a "big brother" figure for the group, offering moral support when needed and a good reproach when deserved. His loyalty was directed not only towards his king but also the Team themselves. He felt the need to protect them, and there was always that thought hovering at the edge of his mind, about what he might and could do should something suddenly arise. He was dedicated to keeping them safe, and when he was around, M'gann felt safe. She could sense his somewhat nervous stance as the leader; the one who often had to take the fall for everyone else, and the one responsible for taking care of their general affairs. He wasn't sure he was right for the job, even after offering to take it himself. But M'gann was sure. He was the one… at least until Robin was ready.

Artemis's aura was a bit harder to describe. M'gann supposed the best way to put it was the archer's inside matched her outside. She was tough, resolute, with quick wits, and was extremely protective of what was hers. She didn't like being told what to do, or being referred to as anything akin to _sidekick _or _kid. _Her humor was dry, and she wouldn't admit it, but she kind of had a thing for Kid Flash. He was always there at the edge of her consciousness, but then again so was the rest of the Team. Artemis saw herself as the older sister of the group. Whenever they were in battle, many of the stronger emotions M'gann felt came from Artemis—fiery determination, righteous anger when someone was hurt, unbridled victory when she managed to land one of her arrows. Artemis was, all around, the rock which kept the Team upright. Sometimes, though, M'gann could sense something else… almost like a fear, a nervousness… a guilt. It was buried deep inside the archer's mind, and out of respect of privacy and friendship M'gann didn't pry, but it was always there, like a sleeping giant. Artemis seemed not to acknowledge this anxiety, and if she did she kept her reaction hidden behind a mental wall of flaming brick. At first it was a bit worrying, feeling such emotions from the steady Artemis, but as the girls grew closer the young Martian quickly came to realize that it didn't matter. They were best friends, perhaps even sisters, and the rush of warmth Artemis felt whenever she was near M'gann was mirrored in the other.

Conner's general emotional range took a bit for M'gann to warm up to. Anger, the burning need to prove himself, a trace of arrogance. Whereas Kaldur was calm and Artemis was strong, Conner was wild and unpredictable. His moods shifted on a dime, and sometimes it gave M'gann headaches to even unwillingly sense them in the vicinity. Conner had a stubbornness to him that even the others didn't have—he was determined to show off his skill, at all costs. It wasn't due to being stuck up, or even just him liking showing off… it was… something deeper. Because under the constant irritation (M'gann eventually came to realize that a slight sense of annoyance was always there somewhere—even if it wasn't directed at anything or anyone), Conner was, truthfully, _horribly _insecure. It probably came with the whole "being the clone of _the _hero of all heroes" package deal thing. Trying to fill Superman's boots left Conner feeling stressed, and then his nonexistent relationship with the man took another toll, and Conner had the nasty habit of taking all his emotions and turning them into rage. There were days when all his passion seemed to go out of him and he was left feeling like nothing more than a clone, than a carbon copy of the original. The feelings of insecurity and depression would inevitably peak sometime during the day, in which M'gann would just want to curl up and cry because no matter where she went in Mount Justice, she couldn't escape it. It would gradually die down for the rest of the day, and by next morning Conner was fine again, never having showed any outward signs of his struggles. As a matter of fact… it seemed that after those times when all Conner could feel was a lack of anything, he was even more passionate, more determined and stubborn. He'd work better with the Team, not quite so angry (Black Canary's sessions with him were doing _wonders, _too), and he was once more focused on bettering himself, even if sometimes he was (hilariously) sidetracked by his confusion at outside-world human tendencies. And, in M'gann's opinion, that was pretty great.

Wally's consciousness was undoubtedly the most childlike of the entire Team. He was cheerful and funny and energetic and just slightly off his wire, which was cool. Whenever her telepathy reached out and brushed him, M'gann perked up, because simply being around the speedster would brighten anybody's mood. When he flirted with her she knew he was only teasing, and played along, and she was always happy at the little rush of satisfaction he got, as if he was pleased she had thought he was amusing. She quickly discovered the fondness for Artemis that caused him to bicker with her, and the awe at Kaldur's grown-up ways and the desire to try and include Conner in conversations that he probably didn't understand but Wally thought he should hear anyway. M'gann thought it was cute, the way he sort of looked up to _everybody, _even her, which caused her to blush furiously. He was a big brother to Robin, and a very best friend, and the overpowering sense of _love _that Wally held for the kid nearly made her cry sometimes. Wally's overall competitive streak could get the better of him then and there, and at times M'gann believed him to be at least half the idiot Artemis portrayed him as, but all around he was a great person to have on the Team. He refused—outright, mentally-screaming-no-way-no-how _refused_—to leave his teammates alone when they needed him. When something serious happened he felt responsible, and beat himself up over it, but he always managed to bounce back with a joke and a smile, like they all needed him to. There was a part of him that was darker—and although she felt really guilty over accidentally prying into his thoughts, she suspected it had something to do with his parents—that he was constantly trying to suppress, to get rid of. M'gann hoped—knew—that with the help of her and his friends, he'd be able to win. He always did. Kid Mouth would never take no for an answer.

Out of everyone on the Team, M'gann found Robin the hardest to decipher. He always had some sort of barrier up, a block that stopped telepaths from intruding and enemies from messing with his head. It wasn't only that. When she did in fact manage to push past his strong defenses, Robin's mind was all in a jumble. He was generally the cheery, positive little hacker ninja everybody knew and loved so much. He was humorous and constantly amused, intelligent beyond his age and insightful, with a sarcasm that rivaled Batman's himself. Maybe not as bright as Wally, or as steady as Kaldur, but… M'gann quite enjoyed Robin's presence. The feeling she got around him was one she didn't get around many other people, and she couldn't describe it but for a warm glow that she wished would never disappear. Sometimes, though… it seemed as if there was more depth to Robin than one would originally realize. M'gann wasn't insensitive to the darkness in him that he kept locked up in his heart, either for fear of scaring his friends or not wanting to let it take him over. Deep down there was a despair within Robin, an anger, a pain so overwhelming that it made him shut his eyes tight in hopes that it would make the monsters under his bed go away. She hated not knowing what caused him such grief, and she hated not knowing who he was under the mask and sunglasses, but she never pried any further into that darkness. She told herself it was because she respected the Boy Wonder's privacy, but truthfully the prospect that one as young as him could harbor so much scared her. But… in the end, it wasn't all bad, she supposed. Not really. In Robin M'gann sensed a determination to prove he was worthy of being a hero—she knew he got insecure about his lack of powers—and she felt his desire to protect his friends at all costs. Robin would freely and gladly sacrifice himself if it meant saving those whom he cared about, and he nearly had many times before. He wasn't fearless, but he was willing to give his health, body, and sanity up for his friends anyway, despite the fear—and that's what made him truly brave, maybe the bravest of them all. Robin had his place in Young Justice, just as all the others did, and his was being the glue that kept them together.

Yes, M'gann had come to know her teammates more than they, or perhaps even she, realized in their time together. A gentle poke here, a nudge there. She knew not to intrude upon their minds without permission, but she couldn't help but catch the little snatches they seemed to throw to her like sneak peeks. It was, after all, in her nature.

One thing was certain in her mind. With Kaldur as the faithful leader, Artemis as the fiery tomboy, Conner as the powerhouse, Wally as the comic relief, and Robin as the charming if mysterious center, M'gann could be convinced of her own position on the Team. Despite their differences, despite how their thoughts may seem to work against each other sometimes, in the end they all formed one cohesive unit. A whole.


End file.
